US POLITICIANS PAST
US Politi-Past: |
John Adams |
Ulysses S. Grant |
James Madison |
George Washington |
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==john adams======
John Adams
John Adams' relationship with Christianity was complex, evolving from the orthodox Calvinism of his New England upbringing to a more rationalist Unitarianism in his later years. While he consistently championed the importance of religion for public morality, his personal beliefs and official actions often reflected a distinction between faith and the state. Raised in a strict Congregationalist (Calvinist) household, Adams later rejected doctrines like the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, identifying as a Unitarian. He favored a "simpler, less mysterious" form of Christianity grounded in reason rather than superstition. He deeply revered the Bible, calling it "the most Republican Book in the World" and "the best book in the world," primarily for its moral and philosophical teachings. Adams held a firm belief in an "overruling Providence"—a divine power that guided human affairs and the destiny of the United States. In an 1798 letter to the Massachusetts Militia, Adams famously stated, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other". He believed religious morality was essential to prevent a republic from descending into "mob rule". In 1797, Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli, which explicitly declared that "the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion". This was intended to assure Muslim nations that the U.S. was not a "Christian colonizer". As a primary author of the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, he included protections for religious worship according to the "dictates of [one's] own conscience," though the document still required public support for Protestant teachers.
John Adams
Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law-book and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged, in conscience, to temperance and frugality and industry; to justice and kindness and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence, towards Almighty God. In this commonwealth, no man would impair his health by gluttony, drunkenness, or lust; no man would sacrifice his most precious time to cards or any other trifling and mean amusement; no man would steal, or lie, or in any way defraud his neighbor, but would live in peace and good will with all men; no man would blaspheme his Maker or profane his worship; but a rational and manly, a sincere and unaffected piety and devotion would reign in all hearts. What a Utopia; what a Paradise would this region be!...............We have no government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition and Revenge or Galantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” --John Adams
==Ulysses S. Grant======
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was never an official member of any church, though he was raised in a Methodist family and maintained a respectful, private relationship with Christianity throughout his life. While he did not typically attend services or participate in religious dogmas, he frequently attended the Metropolitan Methodist Church in Washington D.C. as a trustee and had his own family pew at the United Methodist Church in Galena, Illinois. Born to Methodist parents, Jesse and Hannah Grant, he was raised with religious roots but was not forced to attend church or be baptized as a child. Grant was known to pray privately and held a high esteem for the Bible, once advising Sunday School children to "hold fast to the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties". Often described as "The Sphinx" due to his quiet nature, he rarely spoke of his personal faith, leading some contemporaries, including his own son, to believe he was agnostic. On his deathbed in 1885, Grant was reportedly baptized at the insistence of friends by the Methodist minister John Philip Newman. As President, Grant was a vocal proponent of the separation of church and state. He famously advocated for the taxation of church property and the prohibition of religious instruction in public school. In his dealings with Native Americans, he implemented a policy that replaced corrupt secular agents with Christian missionaries, specifically Quakers, in hopes of "Christianizing and civilizing" the tribes. Despite his own Protestant background, he was the first U.S. President to dedicate a synagogue, a move seen as part of his effort to reconcile for his controversial Civil War order (General Orders No. 11) that had expelled Jewish people from his military district
==james madison======
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What James Madison can teach Americans about religious freedom today As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, debates about religious freedom continue to occupy the center of American public life. Since taking office for a second time, the Trump administration has issued a number of executive orders on religion that raise new questions about religious freedom. On May 1, 2025, the administration established the Religious Liberty Commission. The commission will advise the White House on policies intended to protect the free exercise of religion and to prevent discrimination against people of faith by the federal government. The administration has also issued executive orders to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” and to broaden protections against religious discrimination across federal agencies. (NE Iwoa News: 3.9.26)READMORE>>>> |
Colonial Virginia was a hotbed of conflict over the authority of the Church of England. In the decades before the American Revolution, dissenting religious groups were punished by Colonial authorities for practicing their faith. Baptist and Presbyterian preachers were fined and jailed by local authorities for preaching without licenses. Some were imprisoned near the Madison family plantation at Montpelier.
The religious intolerance in Virginia left a deep impression on President James Madison. It heightened his attention to the dangers of religious authority allied with state power. He shared his concerns with his friend and future U.S. Attorney General William Bradford, whom he met during his years at the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University. In a 1773 letter to his “Dear Billey,” Madison posed a critical question as Bradford began his legal studies. He asked, “Is an Ecclesiastical Establishment absolutely necessary to support civil society in a supream Government? & how far it is hurtful to a dependant State?” Simply put, Madison was asking whether government-authorized religion strengthens society or threatens it. Madison also condemned the jailing of dissenting preachers by Colonial authorities. These actions, he wrote, reflected “that diabolical Hell conceived principle of persecution.” For Madison, such persecution was blatantly unjust. It damaged religion and civil society. Madison feared established religion because it threatened personal conscience and political liberty. Near the end of his letter, Madison asked Bradford “to pity me and pray for Liberty of Conscience.” This line reflects his growing belief that faith should be guided by personal conviction, not political power. --Corey D. B. Walker, Wake Forest University |
==george washington======
“In the Midst of the Congregation I Will Praise Thee”: The Political Need for Public Thanksgiving
Public worship occurred during public days of thanks in colonial and early Republic times. Indeed, it not only occurred, it took a central role in how many people gave gratitude. One prominent example came in President George Washington’s second term. On January 1, 1795, Washington issued a Thanksgiving proclamation. It consisted of a recommendation to, “all Religious Societies and Denominations and to all persons whomsoever within the United States to set apart and observe Thursday the nineteenth day of February next as a day of public Thanksgiving and prayer.” While setting aside this day, Washington further exhorted the country “to meet together” in order to corporately “render their sincere and hearty thanks” to God for his blessings to the country. In other words: Americans should go to church and give thanks. We know the American church heeded this recommendation. A number of published sermons remain from thanksgiving services held on February 19, 1795. They come from various denominations, including Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists, among others, and choose from a wide range of Biblical texts. Levi Frisbie (1748-1806), pastor of The First Church in Ipswich, chose Psalm 100:3-4; Samuel West, pastor of the South Church in Boston, spoke from Daniel 2:20-21; William White (1748-1836), Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania, selected Deuteronomy 33:27a for a service attended by President Washington himself. (Adam Carrington/Ad Fontes 11/21/23) Read More>>>>>
Public worship occurred during public days of thanks in colonial and early Republic times. Indeed, it not only occurred, it took a central role in how many people gave gratitude. One prominent example came in President George Washington’s second term. On January 1, 1795, Washington issued a Thanksgiving proclamation. It consisted of a recommendation to, “all Religious Societies and Denominations and to all persons whomsoever within the United States to set apart and observe Thursday the nineteenth day of February next as a day of public Thanksgiving and prayer.” While setting aside this day, Washington further exhorted the country “to meet together” in order to corporately “render their sincere and hearty thanks” to God for his blessings to the country. In other words: Americans should go to church and give thanks. We know the American church heeded this recommendation. A number of published sermons remain from thanksgiving services held on February 19, 1795. They come from various denominations, including Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists, among others, and choose from a wide range of Biblical texts. Levi Frisbie (1748-1806), pastor of The First Church in Ipswich, chose Psalm 100:3-4; Samuel West, pastor of the South Church in Boston, spoke from Daniel 2:20-21; William White (1748-1836), Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania, selected Deuteronomy 33:27a for a service attended by President Washington himself. (Adam Carrington/Ad Fontes 11/21/23) Read More>>>>>
George Washington
By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation.Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed—to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
--George Washington; October 1789
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed—to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
--George Washington; October 1789